Newly-Opened Ellison Hotel Temporarily Closes After Canton Apartment Fire

More than two weeks ago, the Canton apartment complex went up in flames in northwest Oklahoma City. The fire burned for days as smoke filled the air and seeped into surrounding buildings.

Most of The Ellison Hotel's 120 rooms were booked the night of the fire, but hours after the first firetrucks showed up, those guests had checked out, and the hotel hasn't taken a booking since.

"I will say that throughout the property you could smell smoke. You don't isolate smoke," The Ellison Hotel sales and marketing director Carrie Parker said.

A few weeks after The Ellison opened, on Feb. 8, the Canton apartment complex caught fire.

"It was smoking next door, smoldering next door for four days and the wind was coming our direction for pretty much that entire time." Parker said. "So we took the brunt of the smoke from the fire and the aftermath."

The night of the fire Ellison officials kept in constant contact with fire crews and took turns walking the property to make sure guests and staff stayed out of harm's way. 

Parker said the extent of the smoke damage and how long it will take to clean is still unknown. 

One of the hardest parts is knowing the hotel rooms and restaurant tables will be empty, Parker said.

"We opened the hotel December 6th, Milo November 22nd. So the hotel had been open a little over two months, and Milo two weeks to that, so we were very young," Parker said. "Of course, we were excited to have neighbors. We were excited to have that traffic that just might come next door to Milo for a drink when we got our rooftop open. Even though the businesses are young, The Ellison is doing what it can to keep staff on board."

There is no set reopening date yet. 

"We are doing everything to keep them active, engaged," Parker said. "We are eager and ready. That's kind of the thing. We're very eager to be with each other. We're very eager to be with our guests and the community."